Cheick Kongo: “I’m Still a UFC Fighter”

Heavyweight Cheick Kongo’s UFC 159 bout with Roy Nelson was the last fight on the Frenchman’s UFC contract. Reports surfaced earlier in the week that the fight promotion was not going to renew a deal with 37-year-old.

MMAWeekly.com sources confirmed the reports that the UFC was not pursuing a renewal of Kongo’s contract. He wasn’t cut, but a new contract was not issued.

Kongo recently posted a statement on his Facebook page about his future and his UFC status.

“Do not believe everything you are told,” read the statement. “Don’t believe he said/she said stories. I have not been cut by the UFC. I am Cheick Kongo, so I know best what’s next for me. It doesn’t mean that I am leaving the UFC. It doesn’t mean that I am staying. It means this is my life.”

Kongo (18-8-2) debuted in the UFC in 2006 at UFC 61. In 2009, while riding a three-fight winning streak, Kongo was a heavyweight contender. He then suffered back-to-back losses to Cain Velasquez and Frank Mir and was never able to reclaim contender status. He has fought 18 times in the famed UFC Octagon, amassing an 11-6-1 record with the organization.

He has lost two of his last three fights, but insists he’s still a UFC fighter, at least until he hears officially otherwise.

“I’m on good terms with the American organization. I’m out of contract, as I’ve been before,” he wrote. “So I say to you, unless proved otherwise, I’m still a UFC fighter.”